Christian Archives - Page 2 of 3

How to Find the Courage to Pray Big

April 16, 2021

Inside: finding the courage to pray big

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about prayer. You know, the kinds of prayers that are so saturated in faith that it gets things done. (Well, the Lord is the one that gets it done, but you know what I mean.)

Prayer is (or should be!) an important part of our everyday Christian walk with the Lord.

My mom, a Sunday School teacher, likes to teach her kids that neglecting prayer is like neglecting to talk to our best friend. Without that line of communication, eventually that relationship is going to crumble. Same thing happens with our relationship with the Lord when we neglect to pray often and fervently.

But, what happens, friend, when we’re too afraid to pray?

Too afraid that God might answer our prayers and disrupt our super comfy lives? Or, we’re too afraid of the answer to the umpteen questions we have about it?

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Pray Expectantly: Why You Need to Expect an Answer

March 25, 2021

Inside: why you should expect an answer when you pray

Confession: I am not a fan of radio preaching.

I don’t know what it is about it (actually, I think I do), but most times, I just flip the station to some Christian music instead.

Don’t get me wrong. I think radio preaching is a wonderful thing. Most people listen to the radio in the car (unless you’re a crazy person, and, well, I can’t help you there), so it only makes sense to share the Gospel on the radio.

But… I am just not a fan. I think it’s why I’m also not a fan of online church. (Thank you, Pandemic, for forcing most of us to have to resort to online churchin‘.) I don’t have a major problem with online church either.

But, for me, I just like to be there. In-person. Watching the preacher pour his heart out. Praying I’m not in the splash zone. (If you know, you know. Ha!)

So, imagine my surprise when I caught myself listening to a sermon on the radio as I was running errands.

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What to do when it hurts to hope

January 31, 2021

Inside: what to do when it hurts to hope

If you’ve been browsing around the blog for a while, you’ll know that I liked to read YouVerison’s devotionals when I dry my hair. YouVersion has a devotional for just about every topic you can think of. Want to start a “read the Bible in a year” (or half a year)? Well, YouVersion has you covered on that, too. They’re basically a one stop shop.

Now that I have a fancy-dancy Dyson hair dryer, my drying time is cut in half. But, I still have plenty of time to start my day with a devotion and God’s word while getting my hair dry.

Lately, I have been reading Harmony Grillo’s devotion, Dreams Redeemed. I’ll be honest, when I pick a devotion to read on YouVersion, I usually read the first day’s devotion before starting the plan. You know, just to see if I like it.

But, not with this one.

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Hope and Faith: 2021’s Words of the Year

December 30, 2020

Inside: filling 2021 with hope and leaning on some faith

Can you believe we are finally at the end of 2020?? I don’t know about you, but I was entirely too hopeful about the start of the New Year around this time last year.

And, then, 2020 came around and knocked us all for a loop. I think it is safe to say 2020 has been… not great.

Don’t get me wrong, there were some really good things that happened in 2020. I finished grad school (which, dear reader, is one reason I haven’t been blogging as much. There are some other reasons, but that’s a different post). And, by the grace of God, I passed my Spanish Praxis test (that’s a good story of faith, too!).

But, as I’m sure it’s the same with most of us this year, the bad seems to outweigh the good.

2020 has been hard. It’s been painful, chaotic, and downright hurtful.

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When punishment is replaced with mercy

July 2, 2020

Inside: mercy and grace

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, okay? Remember when you were a kid and you got into some trouble? Do you remember what your punishment was?

I do.

Punishment in the Wilson household usually consisted of standing in the corner for a while or going out and getting your own switch. But, not just any switch, it had to be just right.

Imagine it: Kid Cassie is doing something stupid and gets into trouble. What does her Pops do? He sends her out into the yard to get a switch. Kid Cassie automatically turns the waterworks on, but goes out to find one anyway.

Kid Cassie picks a switch and takes it back to her dad, still crying her eyes out. Pops inspects it and says, “No. I said a switch, not a twig. Go get another one.” Kid Cassie obeys, not wanting to make anything worse, and tries to find a new switch. With snot pouring from her nose from crying, she picks what she thinks is an acceptable switch and takes it back to her dad.

Only, it’s still not right.

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